Digimon World DS Review

Waiting for Pokemon? This might tide you over.

It has long been a source of contention among fans of Digimon and Pokemon over which role playing game series is better. Who came first? Which anime has better voice work? Who would win in a deathmatch: Charizard or Wargreymon? (The answer to the last question is, of course, the fans.) the guys over at BEC have come through with a win for the Digimon side&#Array; for now. Digimon World DS beat Pokemon to the Nintendo handheld and despite its derivative nature and somewhat mediocre elements, it's still a lot of fun.

The game starts off with the player's character researching this "digital monster thing" on the internet, and getting sucked into the magical (or is it technological?) world of Digimon. And I don't mean "sucked in" like a nerdy teenager becomes engrossed with World of Warcraft and forgets to eat. I mean the player is literally sucked into the computer through the screen and ends up in a new universe. What should be a harrowing and traumatic experience is taken very well and soon players are off to go explore and talk to any strange, bipedal monster that crosses his or her path.

Turns out that Digimon is the hot new fad that's sweeping the globe! Everyone wants to be sucked into their PCs without warning and immediately placed in dangerous situations. Where do I sign up?! The first few minutes of the game are out of the player's control, as the character walks around automatically, learning the basics of the world and how they work. Digitrainers are given objects called Digivices, as well as a companion Digimon which they can raise on the DigiFarm, and feed DigiFood (yeah, I'm already sick of the prefix too). Players can battle other Digimon, and add them to their collection, and all the Digimon can "digivolve" into stronger monsters.

If this sounds a lot like that other collectible fighting monster game, it's because it is.

That isn't to say that Digimon should be written off as a ripoff game, because it is still pretty fun. This is a solid RPG, presented in an isometric view. There are lots of areas to explore, and people to talk to. The game even has a good deal of humor. MY personal favorite is when one of the evil monsters threatened to kill a young girl.

"Over my dead Digimon!" was my characters reply.

Digimon does a lot of things very similar to the Pokemon series, but also tries to pull away from being a complete ripoff. In fact, Digimon World does a few things that separate the game from Pokemon quite a bit. One of the things players are going to notice is that all the Digimon talk. In fact, conversing with Digimon becomes an integral part of the game. Talking to the monsters increases friendship and lowers stress. The Digimon will also occasionally give you quests to complete. By doing the quests, players not only make the little monsters happy, but also earn points for items.

In the more traditional RPG sense, the Digimon can be equipped with items and weapons. The weapons offer up new special attacks. Some weapons are for certain monster types, and others have level requirements. In addition, armor and accessories can also be equipped, allowing players to customize their Digimon to create the ultimate fighting team.

The layout of the battles is also significantly different. Players can have up to six Digimon in their party. The first three monsters are the ones that enter into battle. How many Digimon players have in their party determines the number enemies that pop up. Having the first three slots filled often means the monsters will be battling enemies in packs of three. This keeps the battles more balanced, but also offers up a more efficient way to earn experience. The battles are pretty basic, with sprites representing all the monsters, and overlaying attack animations. The lines are sharp and the colors are vibrant. The backgrounds represent the area players are exploring, so it looks like you're fighting a giant bug in a jungle, not in a void.

Thankfully, there are no "digiballs" used to catch new monsters. Instead, every time players encounter a Digimon, it gets scanned and data is gathered on it. After around 8-10 encounters, players have enough information to convert the data into their own copy of the Digimon. It's an interesting way to do it, and allows players to have a full party of monsters and not have to worry about not being able to catch any more. On the downside, some of the more rare Digimon will take some time to collect, since it will be a while before players encounter one enough times.

When players digiconvert a new monster, it can be placed in the DigiFarm to be raised. Here the Digimon will eat, and train, gaining experience while the other Digimon are off doing important missions. The feature is kind of cool since it allows players to raise Digimon without having to battle them, and makes sure no Digimon goes to waste. Managing the farm is less cool. Pretty early in the game, players will have to spend a lot of hard earned cash if they want to be able to support all their Digimon. It's a feature that ultimately also proves unnecessary, so spending all that money seems silly when switching the Digimon out and training it for a little bit is faster, cheaper, and easier.

Unlike Pokemon, a lot of the Digimon have options when it comes to Digivolving. Players pick when the little guys get to change form, and can wait until the monster reaches certain requirements to change into a beter, stronger monster. This also encourages players to catch multiple versions of the basic Digimon early, since they can sometimes be changed into three different monsters.

The game boasts Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection capabilities, though it's limited to Digimatching. By sharing friends codes, players can have their Digimon make sweet Digilove and produce one of a variety of Digieggs. There are also wireless battles, trading, and training, though none of those are over the wifi connection. It's a shame too, because that could have been a major selling point for the game, especially with Pokemon Diamond and Pearl not out yet.

For a Nintendo DS game, the music in Digimon World isn't too bad. It all has that vaguely techno sound to it, reminiscent of some of the old Sonic the Hedgehog level soundtracks (Casino Night meets Metropolis). There isn't any voice work, and the Digimon don't make much noise, even during battle, but considering how many times players battle, that might be a good thing.

The Verdict

For players that are dying to get their monster battling RPG fix, Digimon World should be a welcome addition to their library, at least until Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. The game may still be a ripoff of Pokemon, despite developer's attempts to set it apart, but it still is a fun game. If it had more internet capabilities, it could have been one of the better RPGs on the DS. But until Pokemon Diamond and Pearl come, this will have to Digi-do for now.